Photography and the Black Arts Movement, 1955-1985

Featuring more than 100 artists, this landmark book charts the intricate connections between photography and the Black Arts Movement

The Black Arts Movement brought together writers, filmmakers, and visual artists who were exploring ways of using art to advance civil rights and Black self-determination. This book examines the vital role of photography in the evolution of the Black Arts Movement, revealing how photographs operated across art, community building, journalism, and political messaging to contribute to the development of a distinctly Black art and culture.

Works by Romare Bearden, Dawoud Bey, Kwame Brathwaite, Samuel Fosso, Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, Gordon Parks, Juan Sánchez, Robert A. Sengstacke, Lorna Simpson, Ming Smith, and Carrie Mae Weems, among dozens of other celebrated and underappreciated artists, span documentary and fashion photography, portraiture, collage, installation, performance, and video. Pictured luminaries include Miles Davis, Mahalia Jackson, Martin Luther King, Jr., Bob Marley, Nina Simone, Malcolm X, and many more. The book’s essays by distinguished scholars focus on topics such as women and the movement, community, activism, and Black photojournalism. Taking an expansive approach, the authors consider the complex connections between American artists and the African diaspora and the dynamic interchange of pan-African ideas that propelled the movement. Authoritative and beautifully illustrated, this is the definitive volume on photography and the Black Arts Movement.

Published in association with the National Gallery of Art, Washington

Exhibition Schedule:

National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
(September 21, 2025-January 4, 2026)

J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA
(February 24-May 24, 2026)

Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, MS
(July 25-November 1, 2026)

Philip Brookman is consulting curator in the Department of Photographs at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Deborah Willis is University Professor and Chair of the Department of Photography & Imaging at New York University.